The final online qualification round of GT Academy 2014 kicks off today, as the time trial which will be used to determine who moves on to regional finals around the world.

It brings with it a new car in GT6, the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Team RJN ’13 in its popular YouTube livery, to be run in a hot lap around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

This is a special and significant combo for GT Academy: a team of four Academy champions, including Lucas Ordoñez, Jann Mardenborough, Wolfgang Reip, and Peter Pyzera, drove this same car to a class podium in the Spa 24 Hours last year.

The qualification round officially ends on June 16, 2014, at 06:59 GMT/UTC (convert to your local time here), although the round is shorter in Germany, where it ends on June 9th.

Online rankings are available here and, for the first time in the competition, can be filtered to show the top 250 players in each participating country.

As always, GTPlanet’s GT Academy forums will be an important hub of activity, as a place where top contenders from each region come to discuss the competition and share tips and techniques for lowering lap times.

I finally won the gold and the car, with DS3 i manage to get my time down to 2:20.989.
After i had broken my Gran Turismo 6 disc i thousand pieces in rage, because of this last round, i regret that so i had to buy it back from Playstation Store.

So, it can be done with a DS3 (i was starting to doubt that), but it is not easy.

Jun. 11, 5:12pm

subWRC555

I really had hoped they would have sorted out the underlying physics of what gives you a fast lap ahead of this years Academy but they havent at all
– the fastest laps are still being set by people drifting and handbraking round corners which is utter nonsense, and has no connection to real world racing at all! if you did this in the real world your tyres wouldnt last a lap, you’d be 5 seconds a lap of the pace and you’d most probably be 2 laps away from parking it in the tyre barrier
– it really bugs me for a game that bills itself as the real driving simulator to have such a huge omission in the academy – unless they are looking for the next Ken block that are way off the mark!!

the tidiest DS3 clean racing lap i can do is 2:20.0XX, where as if you drive like your drifting which should be significantly slower int he real world, I can easily knock another second off that – it really undermines the point of trying to find decent quality real world racing talent! (not that I would be in the running anyway – top 800 would be a good reault for me!!)

rant over!!!

Jun. 11, 2:18am

Zahak

Funny, almost never played with normal ps3 controller. Got a wheel (non-supported though) for gt5 and thought that would be no difference to a supported wheel.

Anyway, here I struggled a lot. Noticed that the best drivers entered hill att full throttle and about 245 km/h, while I only managed to hang in if entered at max 235 km/h. Noticed in some other corners as well that it simple wasnt possible to turn fast enough. Read a little on various forums, got hang on “support” for controller, which is quite disastrous in those corners and especially with a “slow” wheel.

Yesterday got my supported 900 degree wheel with force feedback (first time) etc. What a difference. In less than one hour I started to get the hang of force feedback (god it have its own life suddenly…), and with a non-perfect lap got about 0.5s of my previous time :) Still havent got the feeling with new wheel in small corners, but the hill and 3rd last corner goes heck a lot faster.

Still about 5s of leaders though, but suddenly it feels more possible :)

Jun. 8, 9:07pm

biftizmo

Didn’t”t get into 1000… But I got the car and a sore finger..(DS3 user). Whaaa Hoooo!

Jun. 6, 10:43pm

Benny44

Finally after days of sore hands I did it. I had tcs on 5, but maybe I would have got it quicker without. Anyway, I got a 2:20.8xx. Very happy just to get gold on this. Hardest thing for me so faar in gt6, although I haven’t quite finished the Senna challenges.

Jun. 6, 3:23pm

biftizmo

i left this round 4 until i completed senna content…which was also pretty tuff…i though spa no probs i’ll do that later…after quite a lot of laps i could only manage 2.23… so off with all the aids i’m less than half a second off gold…TC and ASC really slow you down here.and yes the straights is where you get a head .. i know because i followed a few leaders…and tho i thought i was quick they totally left me here.now all i have to do is stay on track…dam cones..ha ha..

Jun. 5, 4:19pm

wudy201

Finally Finally Finally on lap 116 andthats just today not the last couple got Gold and the GT-R this has got to be the one car I will cherish in Gt since it took all I had to kee calm and get the gold. Anbody still struggling heres my 2¢ I worried about the last two turns before the finish being the place I was loosing my time but If you get down the first long straight and through those turns fast it makes upfor lost time inthe last turns. So mabey worring about the first turns after the first straight and not so much on the last 2 just might give you enough cusion to get gold. My time was 120.934. Also I use ds3 with only abs 1 all else off. The tcs really kills you in this one. Now for round 2&3 gold hopefully.

Jun. 5, 6:50pm

wudy201

I meant my time was 2.20.934 1.20.931 would be pretty damn impressive.

Jun. 6, 3:25pm

biftizmo

I too now really want this car…its a must have…lol

Jun. 5, 9:05am

GTOmen

2.19.1 after a lap or 5, DFGT wheel.

The key here is to know the track well I believe, the time is to be found on the straights, so exiting the corners before them as fast as possible is crucial.

Jun. 4, 4:44am

MannYhAvitZ

I wont LIE it took me around 34.46 minutes to get mine… How i know cause i was recording it to upload it on youtube and i did it with my Dualshock 3 :)

Jun. 4, 4:39am

chrisspeed281

Only God knows how many trys but only silver. And the bad memories of the GT-R N24 Academy ’12 lessen my motivation

Jun. 4, 4:10am

GTP_Versatile

The final chicane is the only thing keeping me from getting into the 2.16’s I lose so much time there since tapping a cone has to start you completely over, (instead of just voiding the lap). Which is understandable of course. (Cone moves, can’t see the specified track limit, = cutting)

Jun. 4, 3:31am

kseb08

2:20.917 after 20 laps with a DS3. I think I could reach 2:19. Look at the top of the leaderboard… There are DS3 users.

Jun. 4, 8:47am

Morphisor

I actually just checked the global top 100….not a single DS3 user in there, which is telling.

Jun. 4, 2:16am

PIGBOY

20.5,ugly though….

Jun. 4, 12:20pm

Dustin Borg

Just so you know DS3’s don’t make it into GT academy. They only pick people with wheel experience. If you read the terms and conditions you would understand. And it makes sense when they are goin to put you behind the wheel of an actual race car…

Jun. 4, 5:18pm

MeanElf

That’s not actually true. I seem to recall that at least one person made it through to the finals at some point and did okay during the Silverstone live trials.

Jun. 4, 5:32pm

vr6cas

And just so you know Dustin, just because your fast on a wheel at GTAcademy doesn’t mean you fast behind the wheel of a real car. I think it was last year or the year before one guy made it to silverstone and couldn’t even drive a stick lol, he was I think one of the first one’s to get the boot. He was so slow and seemed scared of a real car, but he made it to silverstone tho.

Jun. 4, 1:40am

Normalaatsra

Yup made it in 2:20.8XX with a DS3. I sticked to 3rd gear exiting the Bus Stop, but once the rear wheels stop spinning, I switched to 2nd immediately. I’m the only one in my friends list in Gold right now, gonna keep the YouTube car as my medal!

Jun. 3, 10:03pm

wudy201

Anbody else having trouble with game freezing after completing agood lap in round 3. I cant get to round 4 because everytime I compete a good lap and Ive been getting silver consistantly it freezes when I quit. Ive done this probobly 20+ times now. I want that youtube gt-r.

Jun. 3, 9:02pm

vr6cas

I’m starting to wonder if having a wheel should be a requirement to participate in GTAcademy, because there is a huge difference in the times you can run. Look at where the “majority” of the fast controller users are, 2:19 and above, the fast wheel users are 2:19 and below. Five seconds is a huge gap, now there’s some guy’s or girls that can run a 2:15 or 16,17 but it’s rare, and I’m talking about the majority. Only nine or ten in the top one hundred are controller users and I will really be shocked if ever somebody makes it to the finals using a DS3. Only to go to the finals to be put on a wheel up against the top fastest wheel users. So, just starting to think as a whole it would be better for the competition to restrict it to wheel users only.

Jun. 4, 3:54pm

Johnnypenso

If you were entering a contest in a flying game to learn to fly a fighter jet and most of the top ranked players in the game had a full yoke and pedal set same as on a real plane, wouldn’t it make sense to use the sim equipment that mimics the real life experience? How well do you think your skills with the DS3 would transfer to a car or plane or any moving vehicle?

The vast, vast majority of serious sim racers, those that consider it a real hobby or craft and in turn are serious about GTAcademy, will buy the best equipment, it only makes logical sense.

Jun. 4, 5:52pm

vr6cas

And what makes logical sense to me is give everybody a fair chance at making it to the academy, even DS3 users or restrict it to wheel users only. They should take the top 16 DS3 users and the top 16 wheel users, wheel users race against wheel users, and DS3 vs DS3 users, top 16 advances to silverstone, simple and everyone gets a shot. I feel just because you play with a DS3 doesn’t mean you can not drive a real car, and just because you are fast in a real car you might not be fast on Gran Turismo weather DS3 or wheel.
I just really feel they are missing out on talented drivers that has the potential to do something great in racing, and just because we don’t have a wheel, we don’t stand a chance. I know Ayrton Senna would agree with that, even he wanted people from his country to just have the chance to do something great.

Jun. 5, 5:13pm

Doodle

Most of the time in past years, the events were fairly easy to do with a DS3. I’m sure the only reason why DS3s are struggling this year is because of the track choice. If it was anywhere else, then more DS3s would be near the top. So don’t keep thinking that Nissan and Sony are trying to stop DS3 users from going all the way. In fact, they really don’t care what you use to qualify for national finals with! Keep on pushing!

Jun. 3, 2:12pm

loopyloogrrr

Much for fun than Mount Panorama this one and easier too. Golden in a few tries!

Jun. 3, 1:53pm

superivanho

spent almost 3 or 4 hours to get a gold on this yesterday after work. I almost gave that up, eventually got a 2:20.8 after many times of trial and errors, right before I was about to go to bed, I’m done with it.

was using DS3, throttle control by using the semi-analog button was quite a challenge. Then also many many times I just hit the first cone and restart it again I’m pretty bad in consistency lol. Anyway, happy to get the GT academy challenge done this year and also got a bonus car. Hope they will offer the other 3 white cars for those who participated the challenge as well, just like in 2012.

Jun. 3, 2:43pm

cbarbosa

It seems the only car this year is the Nismo…

Jun. 3, 12:04pm

Doodle

If any DS3 users are struggling and need motivation, Adam_2167 ran a 2:15.8 with a DS3 and is in the top 15 in Australia.

Just so you know guys, it is possible. :)

Jun. 3, 11:46am

unknown85

So easy…

Jun. 3, 2:43pm

erik1127

was it now? You must be good.

Jun. 3, 11:36am

watchclockgit

Just golded by .900 after I think 10 laps. Pretty tricky, it all seemed to be about last sector for me – I think just getting the line correct and smooth on that last series of corners before the back ‘straight’ makes all the difference, up until then I was right on top of my ghost line.

The car is pretty good looking, it’s a nice touch that your national flag is painted on the bonnet.

Jun. 3, 10:22am

WOG_BOY

Never felt so much rage in my life..about to gold it after 3 hours of trying and I stuff it all up at the last corner..it’s possible with a controller.. If you can play long enough without throwing it at a wall.

Jun. 3, 10:27am

Magic Ayrton

I feel for you, why not purchase a used dfgt? or G25/27

Jun. 3, 10:31am

BigMoab

I did that on turn 18, I was going a little fast and hit the bright green part and until then I was well in for the gold with the DS3. Took me another 4-5 attempts to get gold after that with a time of 2:20:896 or something close to that. Was tough.

Jun. 3, 11:15am

SCER

@Magic Ayrton, most people can’t afford them.

Jun. 3, 6:20pm

Magic Ayrton

Sad news.

Jun. 4, 3:58pm

Johnnypenso

One can afford $300 for a PS3, $60 for the game, $$/month for an internet connection, but not $100-150 for an entry level wheel? If you’re in a third world country that might be true, but most of the flags I see online are first worlders. If you can afford the game+system+internet connection, you can afford a DFGT in the most popular countries GT6 is sold in. If you’re serious about the game you will make it happen.

Jun. 3, 9:43am

Sharpener

I agree with -Progress823- I also think that PD is definitely starting to favor wheel users. I’m using a joystick for get gold in the final round, I have tried it for more than 15 hours and I can’t do better than 2:22.282. Impossible for me go fast without a good Wheel. I will not try more times.

Jun. 3, 10:42am

x_Lone_Wolf_x

DS3 User right here. Golded on the first try with no driving aids except ABS 1.. The key lies in throttle control. It’s definitely doable.

Jun. 3, 7:36am

DX_9

I hope this car wouldn’t be buffering when i run it.

Jun. 3, 7:14am

Normalaatsra

Only -150 milliseconds to shave until I get gold with a DS3. Things I just need to master in is Eau Rouge and corner exit speeds without over steering.

Jun. 3, 10:43am

x_Lone_Wolf_x

Cut the first part of Eau Rouge really close to the cones, when transitioning to the right, brake slightly to get the nose to turn in. Then apply full throttle, the car will follow nicely and you’ll get a huge speed boost on the next straight.

Jun. 3, 7:09am

Lambob

39th! (4s behind leaderboard) took the car to the nurburgring ….aaand you can’t tune it.

no matter, it is the best non-racecar I’ve ever experienced on SPA, and it has the best Non-ABS @0 brakes I have ever yet experienced in GT5/6. thanks PD for the experience, can’t wait for GT7p academy on ps4 next year. right PD?

Jun. 3, 7:43am

NJ72

non-racecar…? It is a race car…

Jun. 3, 12:35pm

Mini Stiggy

A: It’s definitely a racecar.
B: It is tunable.

Jun. 3, 6:04am

Jayson619

Gold for the car?

CRAP!!!!!

Jun. 3, 4:26am

Rafael F

We need to gold the event to get the car?

Jun. 3, 5:33am

iainoflo85

Yes.

Jun. 3, 5:53am

Rafael F

thank you

Jun. 3, 1:34am

Johnnypenso

Good luck to all the GTAcademy hopefuls. I did my first session tonight and after many epic profane rants concerning the placement of the cones, I came to grips with the track barriers and settled in to get a few timed laps under my belt. Not much of a TT guy but I do enjoy this combination and might come back to it once or twice.

My money is on the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO. You heard it here first if it proves to be true!

Jun. 2, 10:13pm

Streeto

Erm… that was the final round bro read the title.

Jun. 2, 10:24pm

LEGLESS77

The cars Louie has listed are the cars used in the final round of GT Academy each year i.e. the qualifying round. He’s guessing that in next years GT Academy the final round will be in the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO.

Jun. 2, 10:52pm

Amac500

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You will never see a factory LMP1 car in the game while the model is still in use. Having your car scanned in the game is a great opportunity for the competition to zoom around and get a close up look at all your arrow tricks.

Jun. 3, 4:38am

Louie_Schumii

Thanks for the back-up @LEGLESS77 xD

@Amac500 – I’m not aware of your previous posts re: current factory LMP1s in games. Given the relationship between Nissan and PlayStation I wouldn’t count the car out of making an appearance in Gran Turismo within the cars competitive life-cycle. Beyond that PD could always alter or hide specific features of the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO to prevent other manufacturers from copying any competitive advantage they have in similar fashion to how they launched the BMW M4 Coupé without an interior. Just my 2 cents on the topic anyway.

Jun. 7, 12:56pm

Amac500

I’m sure you haven’t, but I’ve said it whenever I’ve seen the issue come up. I’ve said it about the R18 and the Totota. I’m sure we will see it in Gran Turismo,just not while it’s racing. Even with the M4 you were able to get all up close to it in Photomode. It wouldn’t surprise if this was the ZEOD though, cus is not in a class and will never be used again, that car is just a cheap marketing exercise.

Jun. 2, 8:33pm

furiosomarron

I couldn’t believe it, After getting gold I got the car for FREE, Not even days later as you would in GT5. I LOVE THIS GAME !!!!! XD

Jun. 2, 7:18pm

Situation1994

It’s nearly impossible for me to get gold with my DS3 since the difficulty is WAY too high AGAIN

Jun. 2, 7:52pm

kollosson

Agreed, I use DS3 and drive auto, first clean lap bronze, a few more laps and I’m just off silver but gold looks far away at the moment, its very hard to be precise using the stick and even harder to correct without sliding and losing time, I suppose PD are assuming anyone who is serious about this event will be using a wheel which is understandable I suppose. Always thought there should be a separate leader board for DS3 users though, not for this competition but just in general.

Jun. 2, 8:47pm

gtfanforlife

I have a DS3 and my first lap was gold…

Jun. 2, 9:20pm

TheProRacer

Some people push harder in these events than others like @gtfanforlife .

Jun. 3, 12:01am

kekke2000

It may be a hard event. But it’s not supposed to be easy. You need to drive lap after lap finding the small improvements while getting to know the car and track. Dont see a failed lap as a waste of time. You will feel awesome when you gold it.

Jun. 3, 1:56am

ThrasherDBS

I consider myself a decent driver (generally obtains a silver standard on the license tests in previous games and typically golds TT events) and it took me about 30 minutes to actually get a clean lap in. I was .024 seconds away from gold, and it took me about another 10-15 minutes to finally get in another clean lap, and I wound up beating my time by about .200 seconds. It’s definitely tough, but with enough time and practice, you’ll get there.

Jun. 3, 1:57am

ThrasherDBS

…and I am also a DS3 user, for clarification.

Jun. 3, 6:07am

mikronimo

I agree, ds3 controller it’s not enough good; i recently bought a xbox360 replica (to use even with pc games); it’s not good like a wheel+pedals can be, but till now i always reached the gold in every proposed situation.

Jun. 3, 6:28am

Jayson619

Very impossible for me. Can’t they put it in the shop like the rest?!

Jun. 3, 7:28am

Magic Ayrton

@gtfanforlife, I got gold on first attempt and by some margin, it’s not a hard one.. the best people will be hitting crazy low times.

Jun. 3, 8:28am

Steph290

The difficulty really is relative to driver skill. Usually my decent lap attempts are enough to get me gold in most any TT using a DS3. Very rarely do I need to push the limits unless Im going for a top time among friends. I believe the difficulty is right where it should be.

Jun. 3, 9:13am

kekke2000

Just spend some time with. Dont stare at the clock. You cant just expect instant gold. I spent around 5 hours to bronze the Vettel challenge. Then another 5-10 hours accumulated to finally get the gold. Compared to that, this is a piece of cake.This took less than an hour (i have much experience with DS3).

Jun. 3, 6:30pm

biftizmo

KeKKe2000….i agree never waste a lap….tracks i don’t no to well 20 laps =Gold..Spa no problem usually …but another 20 laps i’ll have it i recon this academy is slightly higher skill needed this year…theirs not much in it between gold and the fastest but its still early yet….it may take me a while longer to get in top 1000 thats where i usually like to aim for…

Jun. 2, 5:47pm

vr6cas

Sometimes as a DS3 user I don’t know we even try, I just watched the number one lap replay and there is no way with a DS3 you could run that lap, that smooth, flat out around a lot of corners, and be so precise, PD needs to admit it, the controller game is fading away, I don’t think they are fully supporting the controller anymore. They are developing the game with a wheel and DS3s come second. I’m at a 2:20.578 right now and can see a second or two improvement but after watching the number one replay and seeing how much more precise you can be, I don’t think it’s worth the time and effort to even try anymore. I regret selling my DFGT. T500rs here I come!

Advice to DS3 users, aim for gold and that’s it.
Thrustmaster to PD- Hey Kaz, start making the controller drive terrible and less precision, so it will make people buy more wheels.
Kaz- Hmmm, that’s a good idea.

Jun. 2, 6:20pm

IngRobNy

Yes, maybe you are right about the controller, and maybe they have turned up the difficulty also, i have tried for 10 hours now and i can’t do better than 2:21.822 at this last round, and i have gold on everything in GT6 except Ayrton Senna Tribute and GT Academy round 2-4, i have silver on those.
I don’t think i will put more effort in to try to get gold on this last round, enough is enough.

Jun. 2, 6:55pm

Morphisor

Well, there *are* a very select few who can get very close. So it *is* possible, somehow.

Not for me though, I just can’t get that level of control with such a small control surface as the DS3 provides.

Jun. 2, 7:16pm

Blood*Specter

Just remember that Thrustmaster and Fanatic wheels use belt drive. They should be the more precise than those wheels using gear/pinion steering. The gear wheels being somewhat looser than the belt driven wheels. I like my G27, but you either give too much input or not enough because the wheel is not as tight.

I’m not aware what drive systems the elite wheels use, but who has the $$ for that stuff except real driving teams using state of the art simulators to practice on?
In fact the Thrustmaster and Fanatic wheels are pricey too.

Anyway, nice livery. Been asking for this one for a long time, since GT5 in fact.

Jun. 2, 7:57pm

kollosson

You have done well to get a 2:20 using DS3, well done

Jun. 2, 9:00pm

Progress823

Yeah, vr6, I’m at 2:20.604 on my d-pad right now, I guess I have to plug in my G27 to pull a better time. The GT series is definitely starting to favor wheel users.

Jun. 3, 8:33am

Steph290

Some DS3 users such as myself are more precise than others. For most TTs I use the joystick in auto and if not on the first attempt I will get gold on the second lap. But in all my years of using controllers and owning a DFGT, I will agree, no matter how good you are with a controller, the range of precision can never compare to a good wheel. It’s just physically impossible.

Jun. 2, 2:30pm

Amac500

So are we gonna get to win this car or will it show up in the dealer at all?

Jun. 2, 2:31pm

Amac500

Oop, never mind, I see you win it with gold.

Jun. 2, 5:01pm

PsuPepperoni

thanks I was wondering too

Jun. 3, 1:52am

MannYhAvitZ

ALEX?! Is that YOU?!

Jun. 2, 2:15pm

speeeyskells

@sniperred3 PSN is down so that why you can not set a time until later

Jun. 2, 2:09pm

Charlie A

Will this be in a new update, or only from GTA?

Jun. 2, 1:55pm

IngRobNy

Is it just me, or have they done something with the sound?
For me it sounds like the engine sound is better and the tire sound is turned down.
Maybe this is just the case for this Nissan GT-R and the final round of GT Academy?
Anyway, the sound on this event is not bad, so now i can drive till i get gold, without hurting my ears. :)

Jun. 2, 5:42pm

Magic Ayrton

It’s just you, the sound is as grating and annoying as ever on this one.